Capturing wild swimming on film

Vivienne’s swimming obsession, which began in childhood and endured into adult life, has now been documented by the Eyes & Ears group of filmmakers from London.

For their beautifully shot short film, called Afterglow, they followed her for three days to capture the essence of wild swimming in Snowdonia’s frigid lakes, from snowy Llyn Idwal to serene Llyn Padarn.

“Vivienne is remarkable,” said director Tommaso Di Paola. “She was shivering for about three hours afterwards. Did I go in? No, but now I wish I had.”

Last weekend Afterglow made its public debut at the Llanberis Mountain Film Festival in Vivienne’s home town.

The positive reaction followed on from her well-received exhibition, “Y Llyn”, at Storiel gallery in Bangor, in which her own experimental photography explores the freedom that wild swimming offers. It runs until April 2.

Another exhibition of her work, at the National Slate Museum, Llanberis, ends tomorrow (March 11).

As a veteran cold water swimmer, Vivienne rarely experiences Afterglow any more. It barely surfaced even at the recent Finnish Winter Swimming Championships at frozen Lake Lohja, near Helsinki, where she was also exhibiting her photography.

But afterglow is not the swimmer’s only incentive.

“I just enjoy it’s purity, both in a physical and creative sense at this time of year,” she said.

“Winter is the best time for taking photos underwater because the lakes have great clarity. In summer, what they gain in warmth they lose in clarity.

“I do like the feel of the cold on my skin it’s almost cleansing, being enveloped in the cold, crisp depths of a mountain llyn is something truly incredible. There is an elation, a serenity, an indulgence, it makes me smile!”

The dangers of wild swimming

There are dangers, of course, and Vivienne has learned to be aware of her limitations. Surface water temperatures can sometimes be warmer than the air above it but cold incapacitation can affect even the best swimmers.